Railway-car door.



W. L. CONWELL & A. E. OSTRANDER.

RAILWAY CAR DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2G,1913.

Patented Dec. 1, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

8H I ATTORNEY WITNESSES:

W. L. OONWELL & A. E. OSTRANDER.

RAILWAY GAR DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR.26,1913. 1 1 1 9,778, Patented Dec. 1,1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER L. CONWELL, OF MONTCLAIR, AND ALLEN E. OST RANDER, OF RIDGEWOOD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORS, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 TRANSPOR- TATION UTILITIES COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

RAILWAY-CAR DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1, 1914.

To an whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WALTER L. CoNwELL and ALLEN E. OSTRANDER, residing at Montclair, New Jersey, and Ridgewood, New Jersey, respectively, and being citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway- Car Doors, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and to use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof will occur to persons skilled in the art.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is an elevational view of the door forming the principal feature of the invention applied in position with enough of the car structure shown to understand its application thereto; Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through a car side to which the door is applied; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View; Fig. 4 is an elevational view of a modified form of door hanger; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view, and Fig. 6 1s a detail hereinafter referred to. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the door embodying the features of the invention, and Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 are, respectively, detail elevations and edge views of the door edge reinforcing plates.

In all the views, except Fig. 5, the middle portion of the structure illustrated is broken away so that the illustration of inventive details may be shown on relatively large scale.

The object of the invention is to provide a metal door for use referably on railway cars, which door will he rigid enough in all directions to withstand the severe usage incident to railway service and which will be of minimum weight.

Another object is to produce the door by the combination of materials which may be obtained in the open market and which can be assembled by relatively unskilled labor without the employment of expensive machinery commonly employed in forming the parts of built up metal doors.

Another object is to so fashion and assemble the principal elements of the structure that the shape of such elements will present fixed guides for the workmen to use in securing in position the necessary attachments to apply the door to a car.

Referring to the parts: 1 'and 2 represent substantially conterminus plates arranged in vertically disposed parallel relation when the door is in service, each of said plates being formed as shown in the sectional views Figs. 2 and 3, in which figures the sheets 1 and 2 are shown as corrugated throughout, that is formed with angular arches 3, which are spaced apart and connected by intervening flat or valley portions 4, which flat portions are in contact so that they may be connected either by through rivets 5 or by means of spot welding at intervals, as indicated generally by the reference to.

While the plates 1 and 2 are re resented in the drawing as formed each 0 a single plate, it is to be understood that one or both of said plates may be formed of sections of less area than the area of the completed door, if desired, and the sections lapped and secured together, ,as indicated in Fig. 6, though it is to be understood that the coupled plates 1 and 2 shall be of substantially the same area and the edgesof the plates shall be conterminus.

As the plates 1 and 2 are preferably formed from thin sheet metal, the arches 3 perform a useful function as stiffening members for the plates, and because a door for a railway car is subjected to stresses in many directions we have arranged the plates in connected contact with the arches 3 extending at right angles. Thus the arches in the outer plate are shown as extending vertically and the arches in the inner plate are shown as extending horizontally, though we do not wish to be limited to this specific arrangement provided the plates are arranged in assembled relation with the arches ex tion of weld it is desirable that the portions between the arches 3 shall be perfectly fiat, thereby insuring perfect contact and facilitating the welding process. On one edge of the door we provide a beveled extension 10, of wedge shape in cross section, which is adapted to fit between the outstanding flange 11 of the plate 12, secured to the door post 13, so as to force the door inwardly toward the carside when it is closed. At the opposite side of the door there is a verticallyextending plate 14, which laps the vertical edge of the door at 15 and is provided with an inwardly extending beveled flange 16, which cooperates with the plate 17 secured to the opposite door post 18 inany suitable manner, so that when the door is closed the plates 12 and 17 secured to the door posts, will serve as guides to draw the door inwardly, and the said plates 10 and 14 also serve as closures for the gaps or prO ecting, and otherwise open, horizontal arches at the vertical side edges of the door. The edge strips forming the members 10 and 14 arepreferably connected to the door by rivets 20, which rivets also connect the coupled plates forming the door proper,'and it is to be understood that even though spot welding is employed to connect the coupled plates forming the door, edge rows of rivets are preferred, for the reason that such edge rows of rivets, as 20, will hold the plates in proper position while the intermediate portions of the plates are being welded.

Closing the bottom ends of the vertical arches on the outer side of the door in the same manner as the top edge and side edges of the door are closed, is undesirable as that would produce a sealing of the lower ends of the vertical arches and prevent egress of moisture, which would quickly destroy the metal plates'l and 2. It is advisable, however, to stiffen the lower edge of the door, hence we prefer to use a stiffening strip 25 or bottom rail,- which is secured to the inner face of the inner sheet of the door, as shown in Fig. 3, which rail may then bend inwardly toward the body of the car and cooperate with the plate 27, as herein described.

Connected with the bottom portion of the door is a bottom r-ail'25, which extends below the door, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and is bent inwardly at 26 and extends thence downwardly inwardly and vertically upwardly, as'best shown in the sectional view Fig. 3, so as to lap the vertical. plate 27, which is secured to the strip 28 below the door sill 29. The bottom rail is preferably secured in position as shown against the inner face of the inner plate 2 thus leaving the lower ends of the vertical arches open for the egress of moisture from between plates 1 and 2. This bottom rail 25 serves as a guide for the bottom portion of the door arrears and the guide plate 27 may be deflected inwardly, as shown at 30, if desired, so as to assist the plate 12 in directing the door to a snug fit against-the side of the car,--when it is closed. f

The top rail 35 is shown in the drawing as carrying door-supporting rollers 36, which in Figs. 1 and 3 are held in position by through rivets 37 which project through the outer face of the top rail 35, through the supporting roller 36 and through the downwardly bent inner end 38 of said plate, as best shown in Fig. 3. In Figs. 4 and 5 a modification of the plate 35 is shown at 35 in which plate 35* there is provided an elongated slot 40 in which may travel the trunnions 41 of the door-supporting rollers 12, this being a mere modification as to the style of hanger employed. Supplemental to the plate 35, or 35, a top cover plate 45 is employed, which, as will be noted in Fig. 3, is secured to the inner face of the inner plate 2 between the top rail 35 and said plate 2 and extends thence upwardly, lapping the top edge of the door and a small portion of the outer face of the outer sheet or sheets 1, thus forming a closure for the upper ends of the vertical arches. Supported upon the lintel and connected to the side plate of the cal- 51, or to the fascia 52, is a pressed trackway 53 of relatively channel shape in cross section, comprising a horizontal track portion, a vertical portion adapted to be connected with the parts of the car framing, and a depending outer flange portion 55 which serves as a protecting means for the door hanger.

As will be noted from an inspection of the drawings, the vertical arches 3 at the right and left-hand side of the door serve as guiding means and stops, which may be utilized in'connecting to the door the parts 10 and 14 before referred to, and likewise the horizontal arches in the plates2 serve as guides and stops for the top and bottom rails of the door. Thus, the horizontal and vertical arches serve not only as stiffening means for the door structure but also serve as guides to facilitate attachment of necessary appurtenances to make the door useful, and while it is apparent that the arches maybe difi'erently disposed than as shown in the drawings, we prefer the vertical and horizontal arrangement therein illustrated, by means of which the coupled sheets are brought into surface contact at many places within the area of the door and between such places, owing to the arches intersecting, as shown, the door is of increased thickness due to the relatively wide transverse spacing of the metal forming the arches at their intersections.

A door formed as shown and described may be produced of less weight than the conventional wooden door employed in railway cars, and due to the disposition of the stiffening arches, intersecting as shown, the door is so reinforced as to withstand stresses in all directions. The top rail and bottom rail extend horizontally substantially to the vertical edges of the door and the stiles or side edge stiffening plates 10, 14 extend substantially to the top and bottom of the door. One pair of these members is on one face of the door and the other pair is on the opposite face thereof, so that their end portions lap at the door corners and the door sheets 1 and 2 are bound and inclosed by a lapping stiffening frame which is connected to the said sheets by the same rivets which connect the sheets together.

What we claim is:

1. A car door comprising united outer and inner corrugated metal sheets, the corrugations of one sheet being arranged at an angle to those of the other, reinforcing metal strips parallelwith the corrugations of one sheet and secured to the valley portion thereof adjacent the edge of the door, the said strips having their edges bent to overlie the open ends of the corrugations of the companion sheet, substantially as described.

2. A car door comprising united outer and inner corrugated metal sheets, the corrugations of the outer sheet being arranged perpendicular, the corrugations of the inner sheet being arranged at an angle to those of the outer sheet, and reinforcing metal strips secured to the valley portions at the edge of the outer sheet and projecting over the edge of the door beyond the open ends of the corrugations of the inner sheet, substantially as described.

3. A car door comprising united outer and inner corrugated metal sheets, the corrugations of the outer sheet being arranged perpendicular, while the corrugations of the inner sheet being arranged at an angle to those of the outer sheet, and reinforcing metal strips secured to the valley portions at the edges of the outer sheet and projecting over the edge of the door beyond the open ends of the corrugations of the inner thereto,

secured to the valley portions at the edge of the outer sheet and projecting over the edge of the door beyond the open ends of the corrugations of the inner sheet, a portion of one of said reinforcing strips being beveled inwardly.

5. A car door comprising a plurality of substantially parallel plates, each having spaced apart parallel arches and intermediate valley portions and arranged with the arches of one plate at an angle to the arches of the other plate and with the valley portion of one plate in connected contact with the valley portions of the other plate, and a top closure comprising a metal strip secured to the edge valley portion of one Iplate and extending over the arch portions 0 the companion plate to close the arches therein.

6. A car door comprising parallel corrugated plates, the corrugations of the outer plate extending vertically while the corrugations of the inner plate extend at an angle a metal reinforcing strip at the top of the door projecting over the ends of the corrugations of the outer plate, and reinforcing strips connected to the outer face of the outer plate near the edges thereof and within the plane of the pro ecting corrugations and overlapping the ends of the corrugations of the inner late.

In witness whereof we'have hereunto set our hands in the presence of two witnesses.

WALTER L. CONWELL. ALLEN E. OSTRANDER.

Witnesses:

M. SCHIRRMACHER, S. W. TUTTLE. 

